FAROL DA LIBERDADE

Sagrado continued to strengthen with each release, producing music that managed to appeal to progressive rock fans and the record buying public in general at the same time, quite a feat for the 1990s. This is the album that preceded their masterpiece, "Grande Espirito". While it does not possess quite the elegance of that work, it is nonetheless a uniformly strong and layered work of art. It features Viana's spirited violin playing in the break necked opener "Dança das fadas", following through seamlessly to the instrumental "Solidariedade". The song quotient is also augmented by the needs of the Brazilian soap opera industry in the form of "Pantanal", a lush ballad of the type in which Sagrado excels. At times it is hard to believe we are listening to a band and not an orchestra. Even the very short, synthesized "Olivia" gushes with a grace that might be compared to the best of Tomita or Kitaro. The title tune alternates between romantic piano accompaniment and a monster of a hook with Viana's fiddle weaving in and out among the celestial keyboards. It seems that Viana is the primary vocalist here, not having yet ceded to Bauxita, and he acquits himself brilliantly. "The central sun of the universe" is wrapped in many layers of complexity; although it lacks the immediacy and cohesion of some of the epics from Grande Espirito, it certainly points in that direction. If you favour warm and melodic song -oriented prog with a strong Brazilian accent, set your course for the "Freedom Lighthouse".